GUILTY OH - Brenda Powell, 50, stabbed to death by daughter Sydney, Akron, Mar. 3, 2020

[Gardenista]

Would they even give those drugs to someone without schizophrenia in a clinical trial?

 

[RickshawFan]

DAILY TRIAL COVERAGE

DAY 5 – 9/14/23

• The judge noted for the record that Sydney Powell has requested to be excused from the courtroom. Powell agreed, and this marked this first time her voice was heard in the courtroom.
• Sydney’s former English teacher described her as a standout student and wrote a letter recommending her to the college where she ultimately failed.
  • WATCH: English Teacher Describes Sydney Powell in High School
  • Milligan taught Sydney for three years while she attended St. Vincents High School.
  • Milligan described an incident in which Sydney, accompanied by a friend, came to her distressed and crying because she ‘could not see the numbers.’ The situation was resolved when a teacher agreed to give Sydney a test at another time. Milligan said that she did not report the incident to school officials and that she never observed mental health issues in Sydney that would have caused enough concern to contact her parents.
• Dr. Thomas Swale, a neuropsychologist, testified that Sydney was out of her mind and experiencing psychosis when she attacked her mother.
  • Swale was asked to evaluate Powell in July of 2023 to determine whether she was insane at the time of the murder. After reviewing her medical records, Swale diagnosed Sydney with schizoaffective disorder bipolar type and opined that she was in an acute psychotic state at the time of the murder.
  • Swale said that Sydney suffered schizophrenic symptoms until May 2020, and then for four months after that she experienced suicidal ideation. Sweale said that he administered a series of tests to rule out malingering and at an earlier evaluation in 2021 he ruled out epilepsy or neurological impairment as having caused the criminal conduct.
  • Lack of motive for the attack on her mother helped persuade Swale that Sydney was insane and could not tell right from wrong at the time of the murder.

OH v. Sydney Powell: Mother Stabbed Murder Trial

UPDATE: A judge has sentenced Sydney Powell to 15 years to life for the the fatal stabbing of her mother in the family's home.

www.courttv.com

Isn't there a difference between schizophrenia and schizoaffective behavior? Don't we all have the latter at some points? In street lingo, it's called "being schizy", and it's not an excuse for murder. Plenty of bipolar folks around, too.

Unfortunately, it's easy to fake suicidal ideation, or manipulate people with it (IIRC it's common in Borderline, e.g. in the Arias case?). That notwithstanding, suicidal ideation is not an excuse for murder: a failed murder/suicide can get you convicted of first degree. ( See the recent example of Shirilla and the judge's stern explanation.)

 

[RickshawFan]

Would they even give those drugs to someone without schizophrenia in a clinical trial?

IMO there is an extreme danger of circularity: "if this schizophrenia drug cures her symptoms, she must have schizophrenia".

Some mental health drugs work for diagnoses that a person might think are two entirely different problems. E.g. An anti-psychotic might work for anxiety, an anti-epileptic might work for bipolar, etc. So, the fact that a schizophrenia drug controls Sydney's symptoms could be entirely meaningless in the context of this case.

I haven't looked at the testimony yet (I can't find it), but I get red flags when they use medication as a diagnosis.

 

[fred&edna]

What is the motion in limine? And what was the situation? I have trouble locating video of this trial.

I'm watching here... live (They are on a break atm)

OH v. Sydney Powell: Mother Stabbed Murder Trial

UPDATE: A judge has sentenced Sydney Powell to 15 years to life for the the fatal stabbing of her mother in the family's home.

www.courttv.com

My (very quick loose) explanation... the pros didn't want the def to ask the doctor what would be the outcome if someone without this mental disorder took the prescribed medications... ie would they be a zombie? able to function? etc. The pros would have to be prepared for these questions with experts which they are not... as first mention of this possible questioning only appeared in def opening.

 

[Gardenista]

The prosecution decision not to cross examine 2 of the experts is an interesting strategy. It's clearly thrown the defense for a loop.

 

[fred&edna]

Would they even give those drugs to someone without schizophrenia in a clinical trial?

I wondered the same.

 

[fred&edna]

dbm lol

 

[RickshawFan]

I'm watching here... live (They are on a break atm)

OH v. Sydney Powell: Mother Stabbed Murder Trial

UPDATE: A judge has sentenced Sydney Powell to 15 years to life for the the fatal stabbing of her mother in the family's home.

www.courttv.com

My (very quick loose) explanation... the pros didn't want the def to ask the doctor what would be the outcome if someone without this mental disorder took the prescribed medications... ie would they be a zombie? able to function? etc. The pros would have to be prepared for these questions with experts which they are not... as first mention of this possible questioning only appeared in def opening.

But the prosecution has an expert of its own, yeah? That person must be in the rebuttal.

There would also be no definitive answer to the question "if you gave X medication to a person who was malingering, would they be a zombie?" With mental health drugs, a given individual's response could be almost anything! Plus, if you give any individual too large a dose, they'll be a zombie. If you give them too little a dose, they could also be a zombie. Dosage ALL depends.... On time of day, whether you mixed with alcohol.... so many outcomes! Some people could have absolutely no obvious reaction to a medication, but become suicidal. I suppose medication could even be the source of Sydney's "suicidal ideation".

 

[Trebor5591]

I like the prosecution filing this motion in limine (re: Dr's testimony). Does anyone think the pros should have been "ready" for such a question posed to the Dr?

Do you have a link please?

 

[Trebor5591]

IMO, the defense experts asserting that Sydney Powell did not know right from wrong when she murdered her mother shouldn't be accepted by the jury because:

1) After/while murdering her mother, Sidney stopped long enough to answer her mother's ringing telephone, pretending to be her mother. She did this because she knew what she was doing was wrong and wanted the university employee who called to believe her mother was still OK.

2) After murdering her mother, Sydney staged the crime scene to make the police think an intruder killed her mother. This shows that she realized what she did was wrong and she wanted to avoid arrest by the police.

Neither of the above was well thought out, but it does show, in my opinion, that Sydney knew wrong from right. Doesn't it? What do you think?

My concern is that I did not hear the prosecution ask these questions of any of the defense witnesses. I hope they will at least bring them up in their closing arguments.

OH v. Sydney Powell: Mother Stabbed Murder Trial

UPDATE: A judge has sentenced Sydney Powell to 15 years to life for the the fatal stabbing of her mother in the family's home.

www.courttv.com

 

[RickshawFan]

IMO, the defense experts asserting that Sydney Powell did not know right from wrong when she murdered her mother shouldn't be accepted by the jury because:

1) After/while murdering her mother, Sidney stopped long enough to answer her mother's ringing telephone, pretending to be her mother. She did this because she knew what she was doing was wrong and wanted the university employee who called to believe her mother was still OK.

2) After murdering her mother, Sydney staged the crime scene to make the police think an intruder killed her mother. This shows that she realized what she did was wrong and she wanted to avoid arrest by the police.

Neither of the above was well thought out, but it does show, in my opinion, that Sydney knew wrong from right. My concern is that I did not hear the prosecution ask these questions of any of the defense witnesses. I hope they will at least bring them up in their closing arguments.

OH v. Sydney Powell: Mother Stabbed Murder Trial

UPDATE: A judge has sentenced Sydney Powell to 15 years to life for the the fatal stabbing of her mother in the family's home.

www.courttv.com

We haven’t heard from the prosecution psychologist yet.

 

[fred&edna]

Do you have a link please?

I was watching live at the link I shared in post #44. But, I believe a replay is available at the same link... here it is:

OH v. Sydney Powell: Mother Stabbed Murder Trial

UPDATE: A judge has sentenced Sydney Powell to 15 years to life for the the fatal stabbing of her mother in the family's home.

www.courttv.com

'Starts about 9:00 (I think)

 

[NeverPersonal]

I had never heard of this case before I started watching clips of it on YouTube through Court TV this afternoon as I recover in the hospital from a surgery (so I've got allll the free time in the world... surgery 1 of 3 down, 2 to go...) and I am absolutely at a loss as to why this girl would do this. I haven't gotten a whole lot of context just yet - I am still reading - but I cannot imagine stabbing my parent to death period, let alone over being a college dropout (which I also am). I don't get it.

 

[fred&edna]

So, the prosecution psychologist will likely be a rebuttal witness Monday morning? Anyone know his name?

 

[NeverPersonal]

This case has some wild features! Started yesterday. Also, that prosecutor opening is fab: very clear, on point.

So, here are some things I can’t wrap my head around:
—SP lied to her parents that she was in college. We’ve seen that before, but she kept living in the dorm!
—the college was on the phone with SP’s mother when she hit her with the frying pan
—defense claims SP is so damaged by PTSD from the event of killing her mother that SP should be able to have the prosecutor-owned therapy dog beside her throughout the trial
—defense claims SP has schizophrenia
—the whole case smacks of Chandler Halderson, who killed his parents after lying about college.

Super-odd: the layout of the courtroom, with the prosecutor speaking over SP’s shoulder.

Oh wow, okay, that one made me laugh against my will. Really, Sydney??

I'm guessing there were severe stressors in the family dynamic that paved the way for this crime, and that some of the particular requests and angles in this case come in part from denial about context in the home.

Yeah. I feel like 1 or more of the following could be true:

*insane amounts of pressure stacked on her shoulders fro her parents, herself, or both;

*untreated mental illness (I'm thinking executive dysfunction issues? I don't like to speculate on someone's MH but the prosecution mentioned anxiety & depression, so it got me thinking about how the reason I personally dropped out was crippling executive dysfunction from horrendous CPTSD);

*resentment of parents, resentment of responsibilities

And the fun one that many of us battle with say is about 99.9999% likely... a veryyyy deep seated fear of failure.

 

[RickshawFan]

I had never heard of this case before I started watching clips of it on YouTube through Court TV this afternoon as I recover in the hospital from a surgery (so I've got allll the free time in the world... surgery 1 of 3 down, 2 to go...) and I am absolutely at a loss as to why this girl would do this. I haven't gotten a whole lot of context just yet - I am still reading - but I cannot imagine stabbing my parent to death period, let alone over being a college dropout (which I also am). I don't get it.

Watch the testimony of the Associate Dean on the prosecution’s first day. I believe you will get a flavor.
Given the Assoc Dean’s testimony, I can totally see the murder happening. There was a long lead up. IMO Powell has very high anxiety, but the university had many resources for her to address it. IMO she got used to thinking of herself as someone who got good grades, and her sense of self depended on it. IMO she didn’t have mature thinking/academic skills (I’ll bet she relied on memorization) coming out of high school; she was not an academic “standout” as things go. Her teacher vaguely mentioned something about her being conscientious about grades.

^^^^ I sketch the usual places for freshmen academic weakness.

 

[RickshawFan]

Oh wow, okay, that one made me laugh against my will. Really, Sydney??


Yeah. I feel like 1 or more of the following could be true:

*insane amounts of pressure stacked on her shoulders fro her parents, herself, or both;

*untreated mental illness (I'm thinking executive dysfunction issues? I don't like to speculate on someone's MH but the prosecution mentioned anxiety & depression, so it got me thinking about how the reason I personally dropped out was crippling executive dysfunction from horrendous CPTSD);

*resentment of parents, resentment of responsibilities

And the fun one that many of us battle with say is about 99.9999% likely... a veryyyy deep seated fear of failure.

I’m not sure Sydney was in the realm of “fear of failure”, in the sense it held her back, except maybe in high school. At university, she did in fact fail, and seems to have made no effort to address it. IMO failure was a challenge to her sense of self, and it brought on crazy denial.

 

[RickshawFan]

So, the prosecution psychologist will likely be a rebuttal witness Monday morning? Anyone know his name?

It makes total sense that the prosecution’s psychologist will be in the rebuttal. They didn’t have to argue with the defense “expert witnesses”, and defense will only have limited avenues to fight back. The state will have a much better psychologist than the defense 3 “experts”, since those were “bottom of the barrel” types willing to stake their careers on bogus claims.

The state will have hundreds of expert witnesses at their disposal who won’t have to stake their careers on giving indefensible opinions. And Ohio has many excellent universities, so the state won’t have to pay much for travel. They might not even have to pay much (I don’t know how this works, if you’re already on state salary). They will be able to get someone very impressive. They clearly aren’t worried too much about defense’s psychologists, since they didn’t consume themselves with cross. I bet they have something big up their sleeves.

I can reference the Nancy Brophy trial where defense put up several psychologist hacks, and the state just put up one, in rebuttal, who basically sliced everyone’s legs off. She was absolutely brilliant. Spellbinding. There was no way anyone could argue with her. I’m expecting something like this in the Powell trial: hope so!

 

[RickshawFan]

I am quite surprised Powell didn’t get mental health counseling in high school. Evidently, the school was not concerned about it enough to bring it up with the parents (viz the teacher’s testimony), but the anxiety must have been palpable. Her immaturity must have been noticeable as well?

 

[Trebor5591]

DAY 6 – 9/15/23

• Defense rested its case Friday after calling two more mental health experts to the witness stand. Dr. Robin Belcher-Timme, agreed with two previous defense experts who testified that Sydney Powell was insane and could not appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions when she attacked and killed her mother in March of 2020.
  
  • WATCH: Defense Rests Case in Mother Stabbed Murder Trial
• Dr. Timme testified that Powell’s case was atypical and difficult to predict because the risk factors normally that are predictors of violence, such as history of violence, extreme childhood trauma, substance abuse—were not present in her case. Timme opined that Powell’s psychotic break began when she was summoned to the Dean’s office and told she had to vacate her dorm. That was followed by a week in which she was staying at hotels. Timme suggests that by then Powell had lost track of time and become increasingly paranoid and out of touch with reality.
  
  • He explained that psychosis typically overcomes a person gradually and abates over time, he opines that Powell during moments of lucidity texted with family and friends to hold on to some normalcy. Alone with her thoughts she would have been confused as paranoid, believing people were talking about her and telling her she was not worthy. Timme said multiple tests that he administered persuaded him that Powell is not malingering.
  • When asked about the incident in which Powell answered the frantic call from administrators trying to check on her mother– he opined that it was a ‘bumbling’ effort. It was clear that administrators could tell the difference between Sydney and her mother Brenda. He testified that Powell while in full blown psychosis may have been so overwhelmed by the trauma she was in a state of dissociation and trying to make sense of what had happened.
• Dr. Anthony Smartnick treated Powell after she was released from the hospital and continues to see her. He diagnosed her schizoaffective disorder and prescribed a litany of anti-psychotic drugs, including a drug to help Powell sleep after she reported having nightmares of seeing her mother blooded and deceased. Smartnick characterized her nightmares as symptoms of PTSD and said Powell responded well to medication, though he had to tweak her prescription when she had breakthrough symptoms.
  
  • Smartnick also testified that he was never concerned that Powell was malingering or feigning her symptoms.
• The State’s rebuttal witness is expected to opine that Powell is malingering and was not insane at the time of the homicide.

OH v. Sydney Powell: Mother Stabbed Murder Trial

UPDATE: A judge has sentenced Sydney Powell to 15 years to life for the the fatal stabbing of her mother in the family's home.

www.courttv.com